Genesis 1

The book of Genesis is foundational to the rest of the Scriptures. What a person believes about creation influences their view of the entire Bible. In this verse by verse examination of Genesis chapter 1 we'll uncover the origins of the universe and gain a greater appreciation of God's power, wisdom and care. Although many questions about the specifics of creation remain unanswered, we can rest assured that "In the beginning God."

Message SummaryThe book of Genesis is foundational to the rest of the Scriptures. What a person believes about creation influences their view of the entire Bible. In this verse by verse examination of Genesis chapter 1 we'll uncover the origins of the universe and gain a greater appreciation of God's power, wisdom and care. Although many questions about the specifics of creation remain unanswered, we can rest assured that "In the beginning God."

Series Description

01 Genesis - 2009

The book of Genesis is rich with theology including creation, the fall of man, and justification by grace through faith. Genesis, the book of beginnings, provides foundational truths from which we can learn who God is and how He operates in the lives of His people.

In this study of Genesis, Pastor Skip Heitzig presents an in-depth examination and fresh perspective of familiar stories like the creation, Adam & Eve, Noah and the Flood, the call of Abraham, and Sodom and Gomorrah. This series offers solid information to equip believers with truth in today's battle against the lies of evolution, the basic goodness of man, and a "fairy tale" approach to the Bible.

Transcript

Genesis chapter one. Boy it feels good to say that. Genesis chapter one. The Bible is the best-selling and most widely distributed book in all of the world. Since 1815, according to Guinness, the Bible has sold--and different ones have been distributed--2.5 billion copies. It has been translated into 2,233 dialects. So it's everywhere. A significant book. And it is this significant book that we study tonight and every time we gather together.

If you were to tally up all of the verses in the Bible, you would discover there are 31,173 verses--about 23,000 in the Old Testament and about 8,000 in the New Testament. If you were simply to read those verses from Genesis to Revelation, you could cover the entire Bible reading at what we call pulpit-speed--just reading it out loud--in 71 hours. Now it's going to take us longer than 71 hours. We're not going to obviously go longer than the set hour that we have tonight. We're going to end on time; trust me on that. Or relatively close to being on time. But it's going to take us way longer than 71 hours. It's going to take us several weeks and since we want to study and compare and get the text that we read elucidated, it's going to take us quite some time. We're only doing one chapter tonight. Now we'll speed up our pace in certain portions of the Bible. We'll do two, three, four, five chapters when we get to lots of genealogies we'll just kind of notice some of the highlights instead of trying to wrestle through all of the names. We'll speed through those sections more quickly.

But the idea is to read it and to feed on it--to study it. I have several Bibles and I've kept them for years. And the reason I have several is because they get worn out. And so when I teach I'll find one of the Bibles that don't have a page coming out of Genesis and I'll use that. Because I have a Bible, it's all good, but the book of Ephesians is falling out. And then, another Bible where Ephesians is intact but several of the chapters of Acts have fallen out. And that's ok. It's not that you want to become Bible-abusers; you just want to become Bible-users. Like Charles Spurgeon used to say, "A Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to somebody who isn't." So read it; use it. We'll be doing that in these studies and comparing Scripture with Scripture.

Now we're looking tonight, and every time we read the Bible, at pure revelation. There are two basic types of revelation. There is general revelation and there is special revelation. Genesis has both. God communicates to mankind generally, through the created world around us. But then, we read that God spoke and God said. And when God speaks and God said, that's special revelation. Both are highlighted in this book; both are celebrated, I think perhaps best in Psalm 19. The psalmist begins by talking about general revelation: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork, day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth." That's general revelation. God speaks through the created world.

But there's something much better, much more secure, much more direct, and much more informative--and that is special revelation. That's the Bible. The same psalm, Psalm 19, says, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple… More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold." So as we study through the lens of special revelation tonight, the creation of the heavens and the earth, we'll study general revelation through the lens of special revelation. Just understand that God gives us both and both are talked about here.

Now in the Bible we have a sweep from eternity past, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," Genesis 1:1, to eternity future: new heavens, new earth, New Jerusalem. Revelation 21 talks about that. So it gives us the full sweep. But it would help if you understand that there's one main subject. And that's one Person. And that is Messiah: the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the one Person that the Bible highlights more than anything else. That is the theme of all Scripture. One Person and two events. Event number one: Jesus' First Coming. Event number two: Jesus' Second Coming. At event number one, Jesus came into the world to take care of sin, to die on the cross, to pay for the sins of the world. The second time Jesus comes He will come to reign over those who have been cleansed of their sin. And that is the theme of all of the Scripture.

But the Bible is also divided in sections. As you can see, there's an Old Testament and there's a New Testament. But let me suggest five sections with that one theme, or that one Person, or that one subject. And here are five divisions for you. Preparation is number one. That's the whole Old Testament--it's all in preparation, prophetic of, anticipating, Jesus' coming. Section number two? Manifestation. Those are the four gospels. The life of Jesus is highlighted, spoken about, discussed, and celebrated. Section number three is propagation. That's the book of Acts. The message of Jesus manifested in the gospels is now taken through Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, into the ends of the earth by the apostles. Fourth section? Information. Those are the epistles of Paul, John, Peter, and others. They fill in the gaps; they tell the story for the church. And then the fifth division is consummation. And that's the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. It talks about how God will fulfill His plan throughout all of the ages. And that which was in the beginning will have its end and God will have a new creation: new heaven and new earth. So those are the five sections.

Now we're dealing with the Old Testament and we will be for some time. In the Old Testament, there are four categories of special revelation. Now if we were Jewish, I would tell you there are three categories: the Law, the prophets, and the writings. And you'll see that distinction even written in the Bible. But we've come, in the Western world, to divide the Old Testament into four categories of literature. Number one, the Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.) The first five books of Moses--or the Pentateuch. Number two, history. Beginning with Joshua, Judges, all the way to the book of Esther is the second division that is the historical books of the Old Testament. The third category or division is poetry. Or you could say "wisdom literature." From the book of Job all the way through the Song of Solomon, it is written in that Hebrew meter, Hebrew parallelism, and those are the books of poetry or wisdom literature. And the fourth division is prophecy. Beginning with Isaiah and ending with the last of the twelve Minor Prophets, the book of Malachi. And you have the 39 books of the Old Testament with those four categories.

We are at the ground level tonight. We are in the foundational book. I suggest you really won't understand anything else in the Bible until you understand Genesis. And I can prove that by simply pointing to this fact: the book of Genesis is quoted 200+ times in the New Testament. More than any other biblical book. It is foundational--it tells us everything: the origin of the universe, the origin of man, the origin of sin and the fall of man, the origin of marriage, the origin of human government, the origin of the nation of Israel through whom the Messiah would come. It tells us all of those original, beginning things. It is foundational. And thus it is quoted much in the rest of the Bible.

Now Genesis covers 2,500 years of human history. And I'm going to say at least. Maybe more. There is some controversy as to when the 'beginning' was, how long ago that was, but it covers at least 2,500 years of history. Let's say from the Fall of man in the early chapters to the death of Joseph. If you were to divide this book up, there's a number of ways you could do it. I'll give you the two easiest ways that I know. You could do what G. Campbell Morgan did, the prince of preachers who preached in London, England, 80-100 years ago. He divided Genesis up into three main divisions. Number one, generation (chapters 1-2). Generation, God creates. Second section, chapters 3-11, degeneration. And then the last, chapters 12-50, regeneration. So generation, degeneration, and regeneration. So you have Genesis divided up into three sections. Or you could make it even simpler and say that chapters 1-11 cover primeval history, chapters 12-50 patriarchal history: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. That's enough said on the Bible and an introduction to the book, let's begin in the beginning.

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."

"In the beginning." You can't go back any further than that. That's as far back as it's possible to go. The question is, when was "in the beginning"? Well, depending on whom you ask, you'll get a number of answers. Some, and I would say most evangelicals, believe in a young earth, no more than 10,000 years old many of them will say. In fact, some of them will be very dogmatic and say it is 6,000 years old. They say this because they believe that the genealogies in the book of Genesis are closed genealogies. That is, they are a complete genealogy and as they go through and extrapolate out the ages and the generations, they've come up with 6-10,000 years old. Now others would disagree. Others would say the beginning of the universe is 2 billion, 5 billion, up to 20 billion years old.

Now I have read a lot on the different ages that are postulated and the disagreements. And I noticed that both groups are very animated and dogmatic and they argue back and forth over this issue vehemently. And what comes to my mind is what God said to Job. At the end of the book of Job, God starts speaking after Job and his three friends had talked for a long time. And God says, Who is this who darkens counsel by words without wisdom? Prepare yourself like a man. I will question you and you will answer Me. And here's the question: where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding.

You see the problem. None of the experts in how old the earth is were there. Only God was. So we can speculate and have fun doing it; I just decided to get out of the speculation business. I don't know when the beginning was but I know that in the beginning, God. In the beginning, God. And that's how the Bible begins. It doesn't begin with philosophical arguments for the existence of God. It just says, "In the beginning God." It assumes His existence. And He is the only One who can speak with real authority because He was the only One who was there. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."

Some people can't say, "In the beginning God." They eliminate God completely. In the beginning, they say, was space and gasses. Gasses floating in space. But if you try to eliminate God you have a problem. Where did the space come from? Where did the gas come from? And you can go back and back and back into infinite regression, but you still haven't answered the question. Until you acknowledge there must be some first uncaused cause. In the beginning, God. Now why is it that people have sought to eliminate God from the beginning, or from the universe? Well, Romans 1 tells us they did not wish to retain God in their minds, in their thinking. Because as soon as you acknowledge there is a God who is responsible for all of this and I live in a personal world made by a personal God it means that I am ultimately, mortally accountable. So it's more convenient to just say, "Well, in the beginning gasses floating in space causing a big bang and an explosion happened." Instead of "In the beginning God."

But this is the doorway to the Bible. You can't get to any other part of the Bible unless you go through Genesis chapter one verse one. And it says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Now if you just believed that, the rest of the Bible is going to be easy for you. Jonah and the whale? Piece of cake compared to this. "I don't know scientifically how a man could survive in…" OK. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth? That's a bigger trick. If you can get this verse down, Jonah and the whale, the floating [indecipherable] of Elijah, Jesus walking on the water--all of it a piece of cake, a walk in the park compared to this glorious, majestic first act. The first uncaused cause. God created the heavens and the earth.

Back in 1903, a scientist by the name of Herbert Spencer categorized all that is knowable into five categories. That is, he said, and he was the one, by the way, that came up with those biological categories for life. But he said everything knowable can be placed in one of five categories: time, force, action, space, matter. Now I want to say, "Congratulations, Herbert. That was really good. We applaud you, Herbert. Wonderful that you could add to the scientific knowledge of the world. However, you just articulated, Herbert, Genesis 1:1. 'In the beginning.' That's time. 'God.' That's force. 'Created.' That's action. 'The heavens.' That's space. 'And the earth.' That's matter. And what we start discovering as we go through the book of Genesis is that it's very precise. And these scientists come along and go, 'Wow! Look what I just discovered." And everybody goes, 'Wow! We'll give you a prize, dude. A Nobel prize.' And yet I submit to you that the man or woman of faith is miles ahead of the man or woman of science. You see, it says in Hebrews 11, by faith we believe that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which were visible. Did you hear that? By faith we believe that everything in the material world is made up of materials you can't see. We call those atomic and sub-atomic particles. Now, somebody came along and discovered all matter is broken up into these invisible particles and that's what everything's made out of. And they come along and say, 'We just made a discovery!' And we go, 'We've always known that. The Bible tells us plainly that everything we can see wasn't made up of visible, but invisible, particles.'

So the person of faith will be further ahead than even the person of great science. Now if you can combine science and faith--and I believe you can quite well--- you can be pretty far ahead of the game. But in the beginning, God created. I know that we've just barely covered one verse. And we'll speed it up as we go but this is pretty foundational.

Something else: one of the things we discover, and I'm milking it for this reason, God doesn't tell us a lot about His creative process. He doesn't give us much information. If you were to count, there are only 630 words God uses to describe the origin of everything. This is an abridged version of creation. He spent far more time and space talking about Abraham, far more time and space talking about the tabernacle. Just a few words speaking about creation. But the purpose of Genesis isn't a biology lesson. How many in Moses' day or Abraham's time would have understood it if it were? God and the Author through the Holy Spirit has an agenda: to show us briefly the origin of all things and then to take us quickly to the origin of the Hebrew nation through which genealogy would come the Savior of the world, the Messiah.

So the book has a definite agenda as it takes us through. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. OK. This is where you lose most people. The modern mind today believes that evolution is such a done deal and such a closed case it can't even be argued and if it is argued it's by idiotic fundamentals that happen to stupidly believe in the literal inspiration of the Bible. And I'm one of them. But they think it's such a done deal, 'Everybody knows…' Try it; talk about this publicly with someone. 'Everybody knows,' they will say, 'That evolution is a fact, it's a known fact, it's a done deal, and it's a closed case.' Not so fast. Some of the most brilliant minds in the scientific community would say not so fast. It is not a closed case, it is not a done deal, it is still a theory and it is still speculative.

For example, molecular biologist Michael Denton said, and I quote, "The evolutionary theory is still, as it was in Darwin's time, a highly speculative hypothesis entirely without direct factual support." Now if you studied the Origin of the Species by Darwin and some of his other writings, you know that one of the glaring problems Charles Darwin saw with the evolutionary theory was the fossil record. He knew that there were huge gaps, inexplicable by him, in the fossil record that paleontology did not agree with his theory. But he also believed and stated that time would vindicate him. That the more we study the fossil record the more we will know that evolution is a fact. Well, in 120+ years since Darwin's time the curator of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago writes, "We are now over 120 years after Darwin and the knowledge of the fossil record has been greatly expanded. We now have a quarter of a million fossil species but the situation hasn't changed much. We have fewer examples of evolutionary transition than we had in Darwin's time."

I'm going to tell you a story. Billions of years ago, and this thing took a long time, billions of years ago there were gasses and explosions and fluids and other explosions and great upheavals and cataclysms and eventually a tiny particle of rubber was formed. It took a long time and it took a lot of processes, but a little tiny particle of rubber was formed and then over thousands and even millions of more years, a tread formed on the rubber. It became more complex and four of these things formed sequentially and then, other explosions and gasses and metal formed, and anyway--over billions of years a car formed and came up out of the earth. Now you're laughing and that is the right response. It's stupid; it's silly. You look at a car, you look at a beautiful automobile and it belies design. It's been designed--and if it's been designed there has to be a designer. It's the teleological argument for creation. Anything designed must have a designer. So if that's true of a car or a watch, what about a brain? A complex human being? Just happened? A fortuitous occurrence of accidental circumstance; randomness over billions of years? That's not smart! It defies logic. It defies good science.

I will also admit something to you because I studied the sciences. I discovered in my classes and courses and work before I got into the ministry, that most intelligent people do believe in evolution. And that stunned me. It was an eye-opener. But then I discovered why. I truly believe this, most intelligent people believed in evolution because they believe most intelligent people believe in evolution. They don't want to be an outcast; they don't want to be considered controversial or stupid. Easier to fit in instead of go against the system that many scientists dare to do. If you believe in evolution I will congratulate you right here and right now. You have way more faith than I have. You're a great man or woman of faith. For you to say that over billions of years just randomness is responsible for a highly complex carbon life in this biosphere takes more faith than to believe, "In the beginning God," the first uncaused cause, "created," force, "the heavens and the earth."

And that's how the Bible begins and that's what the Bible appeals to. Can I just say this too? So maybe we won't make it through Genesis 1, but… let me just say this, too. Do you realize what you will be able to live through in life with great confidence if you believe this? Can you fathom the kind of stability you can have if you believe this? You know, in Acts 4 when they were arrested in Jerusalem and the heat was on, do you remember how they prayed? 'Lord, You are God. You created the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them.' That's how they begin their prayer. Now they're going to pray for a pretty hefty thing but they couldn't have prayed for that pretty hefty thing unless they made that beginning statement. 'You created the heavens, the earth, the sea, and if You did that then that is my basis of my prayer. If You did that, then You can certainly answer this. Here's my issue and before I bring to you my issue, my problem, I'm recognizing who You are.' And if you believe that that's Who God is, you're going to find faith comes quite easily.

'You have a relationship with the One who made the heavens and the earth?' The sky is the limit. OK. Verse 2: "The earth was without form, and void;" Two Hebrew words TOHU and BOHU. TOHU means ruined, or empty. BOHU means vacant. The earth was ruined, empty, vacant. "And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." It was without form and void. It was unfinished in shape; it was uninhabitable by creatures. That was in the beginning. Now, some people see a gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. They see an initial creation in verse 1 and then a subsequent re-creation in verse 2. And that is because the word in verse 2, "the earth was," the word was, it's the Hebrew word HAYATAH which can be, an often is translated, 'became.' And the earth became without form and void. It wasn't made that way in the beginning, but it became that way. Now follow me here. They will then point to Isaiah 45 and I'm going to read Isaiah 45:18: "For thus says the Lord who created the heavens who is God who formed the earth and made it who established it who did not create it in vain." He did not create it TOHU, is the Hebrew word. He did not create it in vain. "Who formed it to be inhabited? I am the Lord and there is no other."

So many will point to some cataclysmic pre-Adamic catastrophe between verse 1 and verse 2. And this is where they will fit the fall of Satan, the fall of Lucifer. Lucifer, son of the morning light, who fell with a third of the angels and was cast to the earth. And some will even say there was a whole human race headquartered in the Garden of Eden over which Lucifer was overseeing and then he fell. And there are all sorts of stories. Now it is possible that Satan did fall between verses 1 and 2 and that the earth became without form and void; there was a subsequent judgment before a re-creation. But I just got to say, I don't know. I wasn't there. Again, the question of Job: Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? I'd have to say, 'I wasn't there.' So it is a possibility, it is a theory--it's called the gap theory. I'm not sure.

So let's keep going and look at the six days of creation beginning in verse three: "Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light." It's even more emphatic in the original: "God said, 'Light be.'" You know, God didn't go, 'Now how am I going to do this? What is the recipe again for light? How do I work this out?' He spoke. The very first words of God recorded in Scripture are here: "Let there be light." And light happened; light was. "And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day."

Notice the phrase, 'Let there be.' If you were to count them up--I've counted them for you--they appear ten times in this chapter. We call these the ten commandments of creation. 'Let there be, let there be…' God said that ten times and He framed it by His word and it happened. God said, Let there be light, and there was light. Notice in verse 5 God called the light Day. Can I just give you a little bit of pre-information for the rest of the Bible? You're going to find three usages of the word 'day' in the Bible. The Hebrew word is Yom. You've heard of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Yom is day. Three ways it's used in the Bible.

One is the portion of the twenty-four hour period where there is light. That is called the day. Number two, the Bible uses the term day for a period of time that is several days or weeks or months or years. The term the "Day of the Lord" is such a usage--it covers a whole bunch of events that don't happen in a twenty-four hour period, but years. "The Day of the Lord," or "The Day of Christ" is another. But then the third usage is, I believe, this usage: a twenty-four hour period. And whenever you find a numerical adjective (like first day, second day) like you do in Genesis it refers to a twenty-four hour period. Thus, I do not believe in theistic evolution. I don't believe that it took God millions of years and billions of years and He called that period 'a day.' And then more stuff took place and He called that 'a day.' God did it in six twenty-four hour periods. And I think that was a long time. I mean, God could have done it in six seconds--He took a whole day to do that. So He took His time.

So I believe in these six days, twenty-four hour periods, because it says, "And evening and morning were the first day… and evening and morning were the second day." In hearing that, you might think, didn't the Author get that backwards? Shouldn't it be "and morning and evening were the first day" instead of "and evening and morning"? Apparently not. In fact, the Hebrews, because of this verse, reckoned the beginning of their day at twilight. Sun goes down, they see the first three stars, that's the beginning of the day and it goes all the way through to the next evening when it's twilight again. So if you're in Israel and you want to celebrate Shabbat, Sabbath, which is Saturday, it begins Friday evening--you better get home quickly. "And evening and morning were the first day."

Brings up a question: God said let there be light yet we don't find the sun, moon, and stars created until the fourth day. So how could there be light in our universe without everything that we know as the source or the reflection of light to be present? That's a good question. I can only answer it by saying, "I don't know." But I can speculate--and I do want to say I'm giving my opinion now. There are a couple of things here. The Bible says God dwells in unapproachable light. There was in the Old Testament this thing called the shekinah glory of God--this visible, light-filled presence of God that appeared in the tabernacle, later in the temple for a period of time. It was this manifestation of God and it was in light. It could have been that before God created the sun, moon, and stars in day four that on day one it was simply His shekinah glory. If you've studied the electromagnetic spectrum you know that radiation that travels at 186,000 miles per second, photon energy, goes all the way from radio waves up through infra-red then visible light then ultra-violet, gamma rays, cosmic rays. But even in that visible light there's a range of size and length of waves. So that even without the sun, even without the moon, there certainly could have been just God emanating.

Here's another explanation. That on day one created the sun, stars, moon, etcetera, but they didn't become visible because of the canopy, the shroud around the earth, until day four. That's what many speculate. But I'll just say, 'I don't know.' God called the light Day and the darkness He called Night. So evening and morning were the first day.

Now here's day two: "Then God said, 'Let there be a firmament [or a vault, or a dome is the Hebrew translation of the word RACHIAH] in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. Thus God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day."

It's believed that there was, at this time, a canopy--a water canopy, a vapor canopy--like a dense fog above the atmosphere in the ionosphere that did a number of things. It encircled the earth, it created sort of a greenhouse or hothouse effect, and you'd have a warm climate worldwide, no barren deserts, and no polar icecaps. There was this uniform temperature created by this hothouse effect because of this vapor canopy that watered the earth. By the way, there's a lot of water up there, even without the canopy. There's a rainforest in Kahuai that boasts of 200 inches of rain per year. There's a lot of water up there. At one time it is believed that this canopy of water that watered the whole earth, it would keep mass air movements from being created--winds, hurricanes, and etcetera. It would filter out the ultraviolet radiation, that very short wavelength radiation that either causes or helps in shortening the lifespan of man. So that would account for the longevity of people upon the earth. So that there was the earth, this unformed mass, God created light, then God separated the vapor canopy above the atmosphere creating this greenhouse effect so that carbon-based life could flourish upon the earth. And He called the firmament Heaven.

OK. There's another word. Beware that in the Bible the word 'heaven' is used three different ways--just like day. Sometime the Bible speaks of the heavens as the atmosphere: that firmament of space above the earth. Jesus spoke about the birds of the heaven. Sometimes the Bible speaks of the heavens being outer space, the heavens declare the glory of God, Psalm 19, David said. Space was James T. Kirk's final frontier. Remember that? Space: the Final Frontier. Well, not really. That's only the second heaven. The Bible speaks about yes, the terrestrial heaven, the atmosphere, the celestial heaven, the outer space. But there's a third heaven the Bible speaks about: the third heaven. 2 Corinthians 12, Paul said, "I was taken into the third heaven." Now that's the Heaven of heavens. That's God's heaven. That's the place where God's glory dwells in its fullness.

But this is the heaven of the atmosphere and above that firmament was thought to be this canopy. Now the third day, verse nine, "Then God said, 'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear'; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good." So there must have been some cataclysmic upheaval, shifting of the surface of the earth and the tectonic plates and the water was plunged downward and gathered into what we call 'seas.' By the way, the term 'seas' is a general term for all bodies of water: lakes, rivers, bays, oceans. God saw that it was good. And boy, it is good. Because water is so essential to our life. Three-quarters of this planet is covered in water. Sixty-five percent of your flesh is made out of water. Ninety percent of your blood is made out of water. It is essential to digestion, reproduction, respiration. Everything we do. We need water--in the air, etcetera, and etcetera.

That's why when I read Revelation 21 I am so disheartened when it says, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth and there was no more sea." And I'm thinking, 'That's heaven?!' You know, if I was writing the book this is how I'd want to describe heaven: 'And there will be no more cities, but lots of sea and lots of beach.' But apparently it indicates that it's not going to be a water-based planet. The new heaven, the new earth that will be created after this one is destroyed because we're going to have resurrected bodies and not depend on the same elements that we have. There's not going to be any need for it. And before you get too bummed out, realize that the oceans have been part of the separation that keeps one people group from another people group. There'll be no more separations, no sea. Instant access. But that's for the book of Revelation and--judging from how we're going--it's going to take awhile to get there.

God saw that it was good and God said, verse 11, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day." God already established the reproduction in the plant world: seeds, obviously when they were made then there was a certain age that was built into that creation because they had seeds in them, able to then reproduce and have other plants like it, according to its kind.

Something you will notice in the creation, though it's done just in a few words, very briefly. There never is a movement vertically, though there is certainly movement horizontally. That is, it defies the evolutionary theory which believes in the principal of transmutation: that over a period of time a species changed and tails fell off and limbs grew. The only problem is there's no real evidence, as I said, in the fossil record to show that. If that were true, there wouldn't just be evidence--there'd be an abundance of transmutative forms in our world and there's not. In the strata. There's plenty of room for horizontal movement and horizontal latitude. Micro-movements, not macro-movements.

Back in 1934, they were able to cross a Logan berry and a raspberry and a blackberry and come up with a boysenberry. So they took those three berries and were able to make this hybrid cross of a boysenberry. So? It's still a berry. They didn't take three berries and make an orange. They were able to move laterally in small increments, not macro, but micro-increments. Not transmutation, but crossing and mutation. And there is a big difference between mutative forms and transmutative forms, which there's a glaring lack of. So it's according to its kind. According to its kind. And though there can be micro-movements, there's certainly no vertical movements.

God saw that it was good so evening and the morning were the third day. Verse 14, "Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years" And you know what? We still use them. The original calendar was the lunar calendar, based on the movement of the moon. Our calendar is the solar calendar, based upon the relationship of the earth to the sun. For signs. "Let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day."

The milky way galaxy is this strangely shaped cluster of luminaries that sort of resembles a wide, very thin watch. The milky way galaxy in measurement is 10,000 light years by 100,000 light years. And where the earth is situated, scientists have discovered, it's just situated perfectly for the kind of life that we now have. Now people will say, 'Well, it just so happened.' OK. It just so happened that the earth is 93 million miles away from its sun that has a surface temperature of 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It just so happened. If we were as close as Venus, the surface temperature of Venus is 850 degrees Fahrenheit. We'd burn up--we wouldn't last. If we were as far away as Mars, the temperature dips to -200 degrees Fahrenheit. But it just so happens that we're 93 million miles away from a surface that's 12,000 degrees--it just so happened. And, by the way, it just so happened that the earth makes 365 revolutions as it makes its journey around the sun. Why not 30? Well, the days would be ten times longer, there would be alternate burning and freezing. This carbon-based life we enjoy in this biosphere would not be sustained. And it just so happened that that revolving sphere is tilted 23 1/3 degrees on its axis in relation to the sun to give us four beautiful seasons. Oh--something else. It just so happens that the makeup of the atmosphere is a percentage of oxygen to nitrogen 79%-20% with 1% of variant gases that makes breathing just a pleasure. What if it weren't 79-20, what if it were 50-50? 50% oxygen, 50% nitrogen. Well, the first guy to light up a cigarette--talk about the Big Bang theory? It would be all over in a flash.

And it just so happens that this water-laden earth, if the oceans (they tell us) were half of the present dimensions that they are now, there be less than ¼ of the rainfall that we have on the earth. Life couldn't be sustained. If they were just a bit bigger--like 1/8 bigger--the earth would be a flood. All of the things are just right. And it just so happened. It's a wonderful accident. No. Back to the car oozing out of the ground. It's a marvelous design by a Creator. And by the way, this galaxy. It speaks about the galaxy and the stars and the moon and the sun, but the center of it is earth. That's right. We are the center of the universe as far as life is concerned. It's a pretty big universe. It's 10,000 by 100,000 light years. If you could hop on a ray of light and go 186,000 miles per second you could go around the earth at that speed 7 ½ times in one second. If you're doing that speed and you shoot out to the moon, in 1.5 seconds you'll sail past the moon--going the speed of light. In 2 minutes and 18 seconds, you'll sail past Venus. In 4 minutes, you'll sail past Mercury; in 7 ½ minutes you'll get past the sun; in 4 hours you'll get to Pluto. But in 4 years and 4 months you'll make it from earth to the nearest neighbor star, Alpha Centauri. Alpha Centauri's 4.3 light years away from the earth.

But if you're travelling 186,000 miles per second, it'll take you 100,000 years to get from one end of your milky way galaxy to the other end of it. 100,000 years at 186,000 miles per second. And if you do that you haven't even left the front yard. Because they tell us there are 100 billion more galaxies beyond. But God's interested in the earth. And all of these serve His created life upon the earth. Now how does that make you feel?

"Then God said, 'Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens. So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them" Isn't that great? God blessed the birds and blessed the whales… the squids and the sharks. And said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

"Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle [these are domestic animals] and creeping thing and beast [these are wild, nondomestic animals] of the earth, each according to its kind'; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps [so all the creeps were made on the sixth day as well] on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."

I'm just going to plant something in your brain because I'm out of time. It would appear than, according to the Bible, that dinosaurs--which did exist, there's plenty of evidence--and man were created on the same day. And thus lived at the same time. Now I'm planting that in your mind because you've seen signs in natural history museums that are before a dinosaur skeleton that says: "Dinosaurs reigned for 140 million years but quickly died 60 million years before the advent of man on the earth." Well, the Bible disagrees with that and I believe science disagrees with that. And I'll show you why next time.

"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the moves on the earth.'

And God said, 'See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food'; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day."

I just wanted to say I did Genesis 1 tonight.

Additional Messages in this Series

Message SummaryMankind is confused about the origin of man. Sadly, many of the world's most intelligent minds embrace the lie of evolution. But man did not accidentally evolve from primordial soup. We are God's crowning creation, a result of His intricate design.

Message SummaryThe lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life are the oldest tricks in the book. Just as Satan deceived Eve into believing God was holding out on her, we too can be tempted to believe that what God has forbidden is the key to our fulfillment. Can God be trusted? In this message we learn that while the consequences of disobedience are disastrous, the Lord has a plan for our redemption.

Message SummaryThough death was not God's original plan for His creation, through the sin of Adam, death entered the entire human race and has reigned ever since. As we explore the 1500 years of history covered in Chapters 5 and 6 of Genesis, the fruit of sin is evident. We'll discover that from the murder of Abel through the descendants of Cain, love of self ruled in the hearts of men, but those in Christ must rule over sin and let the love of God be our motivation.

Message SummaryWhen Jesus told His disciples about His second coming, He said, "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." In this message we'll examine the world conditions at the time of the flood and see how the world has fallen back to similar depravity. We'll also uncover exciting parallels between God's plan of salvation of Noah through the flood and His plan to deliver His children from the coming tribulation.

Message SummaryAfter 120 years of diligent, obedient preparation for the coming deluge, Noah received God's invitation to board the ark. It must have been a difficult, yet exciting time for Noah and his family; the animals entered the enormous ship, the door was closed behind them, and the rain began to fall. Soon, floodwaters covered the entire planet, and eight souls and the animals on the ark were all that remained. Why is it important to understand the worldwide nature of the flood? How should this ancient cataclysm affect our lives and our view of the coming judgment?

Message SummaryMan is the crown of creation made in the image of God, but from the time of creation through the flood mankind was growing more and more corrupt. When Noah and his family stepped off the ark, God established human government and delivered four directives so that as society grew, it could function smoothly.

Message SummaryThe listing of genealogies recorded in scripture is, at times, difficult. What is the significance of such a detailed account? How are we to apply this information to our lives? Through this meticulous record of the descendants of Noah, God demonstrates His interest in people, His faithfulness to His promise, and His isolation of the people group through whom Messiah would come.

Message SummaryThe Bible presents Abraham is our example of justification by faith. Although his life was not easy and his walk was not perfect, Scripture refers to him as a friend of God. Let's take a look at the testimony and testing of Abram and learn important lessons about God's faithfulness in the lives of His people.

Message SummaryAll of us make mistakes; we falter and fail in our relationships with the Lord and with others. Abram was no different, but by God's mercy he is the Father of them that believe. As we examine his life and the lives of those around him, we'll see that they encountered trials and temptations not so different from our own. Let's take a look at the differences between godly Abram and worldly Lot, and avoid the hazards of flirting with temptation.

Message SummaryThe nation of Israel is the avenue though which the Lord has blessed the world with the Messiah. God's promise to Abram guarantees their ownership of the land, and provides a picture of His divine accomplishment, based on God's work alone. Join us as we uncover the doctrine of justification by faith from our text in Genesis 15.

Message SummaryIt's a common problem; trusting our feelings rather than trusting the Lord. But feelings are misleading, and as we learn from Abram and Sarai, trying to help God fulfill His promises can be costly. Their spiritual detour from the will of God produced ramifications we are experiencing today. God is faithful however to fulfill His promises, His plan is perfect, and His will will be accomplished.

Message SummaryAbraham experienced trials and failures and yet the Bible refers to him as the friend of God. As we examine Genesis 18 we'll witness Abraham's encounter with three heavenly visitors and gain further insight into his relationship with the Lord. Let's explore the privileges and expectations of those who desire a friendship with God as we study the life of Abraham.

Message SummaryThe topic of God's judgment makes some people squirm. Believing that God is loving, gracious, merciful and kind often comes easier than viewing Him as Judge. As we investigate the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah we'll come to terms with the necessity of His judgment. We'll also be reminded that God is in the business of redemption, and that He dealt with the sin of those who believe at the cross of Calvary.

Message SummaryAs believers we are new creations in Christ, however, we still carry around our old nature; the battle between the spirit and the flesh is a struggle for all of us. As we consider the life of Abraham, we see him fall once again into a familiar sin. The consequences of his choices are damaging, hurting others and ruining his testimony before unbelievers. But as we'll see in our text, God is faithful, and causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose.

Message SummaryIt can be challenging for us to line up our behavior with the teachings of Scripture. Biblical principles are often contrary to our human nature, and obedience can be uncomfortable. As we examine the profound testing of Abraham's faith, we must ask ourselves, "Am I willing to do what is difficult?" As we walk in obedience to the Lord, our faith is developed and our relationship with Him is strengthened.

Message SummaryDeath is a fact of life; the statistics show that every one of us will die; the ratio is 1:1. Let's consider the suffering and sorrow Abraham endured through the near sacrifice of his son Isaac and the death of his wife Sarah. We'll discover that the path of sorrow can also be the road to deeper fellowship with the Lord.

Message SummaryIn most parts of the world, the methods of dating and marriage have changed dramatically over the past 4000 years. Arranged marriages, family involvement and dowries are foreign to our culture where online dating is becoming the norm. As we consider the way Isaac and Rebekah were brought together, we will discover timeless principles to apply to the modern dating game. We'll also uncover a deeper spiritual message as we examine the foundations of their relationship.

Message SummaryIt's been said, "He who dies with the most toys still dies;" a clever saying with profound insight. Abraham died full, not merely in quantity of years and physical blessings, but in satisfaction and relationship with the Lord. As we take a look at his final years and the legacy he left behind, we'll be reminded of what's really important in life, and be challenged to consider our own priorities and our spiritual birthright.

Message SummaryAs Isaac takes center stage in our study through the book of Genesis, we'll see that it's not always best to follow in our earthly father's footsteps. Partial obedience and compromising truth rear their heads in a plot reminiscent of Abraham's struggles. Join us as we peek into the life of Isaac and get another glimpse of our God who is rich in mercy and faithful to his promises.

Message SummaryIsaac's family was plagued by distrust and scheming, but a dysfunctional family is no match for the sovereign hand of God. In spite of the continuing battle between Jacob and Esau, and the deceptive habits that have been passed down for generations, the Lord's plan will not be thwarted. His ways are not our ways, and He causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

Message SummaryGrace cannot be earned; as AW Tozer said, "As mercy is God's goodness confronting human misery and guilt, so grace is His goodness directed toward human debt and demerit." Though Jacob is not deserving of blessing, the grace of God was poured into his life. Though we may reap what we sow, God's grace is sufficient for us.

Message SummaryGod uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. Out of a dysfunctional family, and an oppressive workplace the Lord will ultimately accomplish His will. Let's take a look at Jacob's superstitious relatives and recognize God's powerful work in the midst of human failure.

Message SummaryHow can we know God's will for our lives? Genesis 31 offers beautiful lessons for the child of God. We'll see God confirm His will to Jacob through circumstances and His Word as he packs up his family and leaves Padan Adam to head home.

Message SummaryDuring the difficult days following 9-11, our country experienced a deeper sense of community and spiritual renewal. The tragedy served as a wakeup call; in spite of our prosperity, we are not immune to pain. Often, the Lord gets a hold of us in the midst of suffering; we may endure steady adversity so that we always depend on Him. Let's look again at the life of Jacob as he comes to another turning point on his spiritual journey where he learns that when he is weak, he is made strong.

Message SummaryWe take another look at the life of Jacob in Genesis 34 where the effects of his flaws become glaringly apparent. Jacob's passive parenting and dysfunctional family result in an ungodly reaction to the rape of his daughter, Dinah. Let's examine profound spiritual truths, learn important principles to apply to our own families, and renew our hope in the grace of God.

Message SummaryIt's been said, "It's always darkest before the dawn." On the heels of a dark period in Jacob's life, the Lord works in his heart to bring about revival. As we dive into our text, we'll see that while Jacob lingered far away from God for a time, he renews his commitment to the God of second chances.

Message SummaryWe've all been told that we look like someone else. Often members of the same family carry a strong resemblance to one another. Joseph reminds us of someone else: Jesus. As we explore their similarities, we'll be challenged with two crucial questions. How much do we resemble Jesus Christ? Do we look like our Heavenly Father?

Message SummaryJoseph takes center stage in our study through the book of Genesis. His father's preferential treatment backfires and this favorite son ends up in the bottom of a cistern, and then sold into slavery. Let's take a closer look at God's providential hand and tuck away some important events that we'll pull out later as evidence of His faithfulness.

Message SummaryThe contrast between Joseph and his brothers is great. Nothing bad is recorded about Joseph, but his brothers' lives are a mess. Joseph was faithful; his brothers were failures. Joseph had rock solid integrity; his brothers practiced wretched morality. Yet in the midst of it all, the Holy Spirit worked behind the scenes, using the most unlikely people to bring the Messiah into the world.

Message SummaryThe account of Joseph's life has been a riches-to-rags tale thus far. While Joseph remains faithful in the midst of trials, the sovereign hand of God is fulfilling His purpose in Joseph's heart and in the world. Let's take a look at the dreamer of dreams as he takes his eyes off his circumstances and places them squarely on the Lord.

Message SummaryWhat things does God work together for good in the lives of those who love Him? Sold into slavery, falsely accused, forgotten in prison– these are troubling events in the life of Joseph. As we approach this text, we'll see the sovereign hand of God at work, fulfilling His promise and truly working all things together for good in the life of Joseph.

Message SummaryLove isn't always easy. The natural response to difficult people may be retaliation. After cruel treatment by his brothers, Joseph is placed in a powerful position--their fate is in his hands; however, rather than payback, Joseph chooses pardon. He sets a wonderful example for us of supernatural love for unlovely people.

Message SummaryHow do you respond in the face of adversity? Do you see life's difficulties through the filter of God's sovereignty? Joseph had been sold into slavery, forgotten in prison, and falsely accused. When faced with the brothers who got him into this mess, rather than revenge, Joseph chose the high road of forgiveness. Let's uncover how his vertical relationship with the Lord equipped him to restore his horizontal relationships with his brothers.

Message SummaryPerspective can be everything. Do you view life's challenges and success through the lens of God's sovereignty? Joseph spent twenty-two years in Egypt trusting in God's faithfulness. As we witness the reunion of Joseph and Jacob, we should remember that the God who sees all things also has a perfect plan for you and me.

Message SummaryIt's a deathbed scene; the end of Jacob's life is drawing near and there are things he wants to set in order. While the law of the firstborn requires the oldest son to receive a double portion, Jacob chooses to honor the younger grandson, Ephraim. We'll learn why, and how that is relevant to our own lives in this study from Genesis.

Message SummaryAs the book of beginnings comes to a close we'll witness Jacob's final declaration of blessing and admonition toward his sons, his death, and his burial in Canaan. Let's glimpse into his faith, consider his testimony, and learn from his example.

Message SummaryWhy did God place the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Garden of Eden? Did dinosaurs and man co-exist? Was the flood local or global? These are some of the questions Pastor Skip addresses in our recap of the book of Genesis. Let's explore the answers to these common concerns and gain a deeper understanding of God's plan for mankind.